Engine intake control system

ABSTRACT

An engine intake control system that includes a first intake passage that has an upstream end portion and a downstream end portion opening in a surge chamber, a second intake passage that has an upstream end portion opening in the surge chamber so as to oppose the downstream end portion of the first intake passage across a gap, and a sleeve-shaped valve body slidably fitted around the downstream end portion of the first intake passage and moving between a first position in which it is distanced from the upstream end portion of the second intake passage and a second position in which it is in contact with the upstream end portion, wherein a linear motion guide bearing system is provided between an intake manifold and the valve body, a rail of the linear motion guide bearing system extending in a direction of movement of the valve body is secured to a support post fixedly provided on the intake manifold, and a slider movably straddle-mounted on the rail is secured to the valve body. Thereby an engine intake control system can realize smooth movement of a valve body even with lower machining precision for sliding faces of a first intake passage end portion and the valve body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an engine intake control system in which a surge chamber communicating with an air inlet, a first intake passage that has an upstream end portion and a downstream end portion opening in the surge chamber, and a second intake passage that has an upstream end portion opening in the surge chamber so as to oppose the downstream end portion of the first intake passage across a gap and a downstream end portion connected to an intake port of an engine are formed in an intake manifold mounted on the engine, a sleeve-shaped valve body is slidably fitted around one of the opposing end portions, that is, the first intake passage end portion, of the first and second intake passages, the valve body moving between a first position in which the valve body is distanced from the other of the opposing end portions, that is, the second intake passage end portion, and a second position in which the valve body is in contact with the second intake passage end portion, and an actuator is connected to the valve body via a valve operating system for operating the valve body.

2. Description of the Related Art

Such an engine intake control system is already known, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-224670.

In such an engine intake control system, since the first intake passage end portion also functions as a guide member for guiding movement of the valve body, in order to guarantee smooth movement of the valve body it is necessary to control a sliding gap therebetween appropriately and high machining precision is required, but since the first intake passage end portion and the valve body have a large diameter, maintaining high machining precision for sliding faces thereof reduces the productivity and gives rise to high cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of such circumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide an engine intake control system of the above type that can realize smooth movement of a valve body even with lower machining precision for sliding faces of a first intake passage end portion and the valve body.

In order to achieve the object, according to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided an engine intake control system in which a surge chamber communicating with an air inlet, a first intake passage that has an upstream end portion and a downstream end portion opening in the surge chamber, and a second intake passage that has an upstream end portion opening in the surge chamber so as to oppose the downstream end portion of the first intake passage across a gap and a downstream end portion connected to an intake port of an engine are formed in an intake manifold mounted on the engine, a sleeve-shaped valve body is slidably fitted around one of the opposing end portions, that is, the first intake passage end portion, of the first and second intake passages, the valve body moving between a first position in which the valve body is distanced from the other of the opposing end portions, that is, the second intake passage end portion, and a second position in which the valve body is in contact with the second intake passage end portion, and an actuator is connected to the valve body via a valve operating system for operating the valve body, wherein a linear motion guide bearing system for guiding the valve body in a direction of movement thereof is provided between the intake manifold and the valve body, a rail of the linear motion guide bearing system extending in the direction of movement of the valve body is secured to a support post fixedly provided on the intake manifold, and a slider of the linear motion guide bearing system movably straddle-mounted on the rail is secured to the valve body.

With the first feature of the present invention, since the linear motion guide bearing system for guiding linear movement of the valve body between the first and second positions is provided between the intake manifold and the valve body, the valve body can smoothly move between the first and second positions without galling against the first intake passage end portion occurring, thus enhancing the responsiveness of operation. It is thus possible to control a sliding gap appropriately and easily while lowering the precision of machining of sliding faces of the first intake passage end portion and the valve body, and not only does this serve to a reduction in cost due to improvement of productivity, but it is also possible to improve the responsiveness of operation due to the driving force for the valve body decreasing and reduce the size of the actuator by a corresponding proportion.

According to a second feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, the valve body is of a multiple connected type in which a plurality of valve bodies arranged along a direction in which the intake ports of the multi-cylinder engine are arranged are integrally connected to each other via a bridge, the slider is secured to a central bridge positioned in a central part of the multiple connected valve bodies, and this slider is placed between two valve bodies connected by the central bridge.

With the second feature of the present invention, the single linear motion guide bearing system can be as close to the center of gravity of the multiple connected valve bodies as possible, this enables the operating attitude of the multiple connected valve bodies to be stabilized, and any increase in the dimensions of the intake control system resulting from installation of the linear motion guide bearing system can be avoided as far as possible.

According to a third feature of the present invention, in addition to the first or second feature, the valve operating system is connected to the central bridge together with the linear motion guide bearing system.

With the third feature of the present invention, it is possible to dispose the linear motion guide bearing system and the valve operating system in proximity to each other, the tilt moment of the multiple connected valve bodies due to operation of the valve operating system can be suppressed, and the function of the linear motion guide bearing system can be enhanced, thus further serving for improvement in the responsiveness of operation of the multiple connected valve bodies.

According to a fourth feature of the present invention, in addition to any of the first to third features, a seal member is attached to the inner periphery of the valve body, the seal member being in slidable intimate contact with an outer peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion.

With the fourth feature of the present invention, even if the precision of machining of the sliding faces of the first intake passage end portion and the valve body is lowered, since the seal member attached to the inner periphery of the valve body is in intimate contact with the outer peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion, when the valve body is in the second position where it is in contact with the second intake passage end portion, it is possible to reliably prevent air from leaking from the surge chamber to the second intake passage through a gap between the first intake passage end portion and the valve body.

A mode for carrying out the present invention is explained below by reference to an embodiment of the present invention shown in the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of an intake manifold comprising the valve operating system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2 in FIG. 1 (showing a state in which a valve body is in a first position).

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 in FIG. 1 (showing a state in which the valve body is in the first position).

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 1 (showing a state in which the valve body is in the first position).

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part 5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 5, showing a state in which the valve body is in a second position.

FIG. 7 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a state in which the valve body is in the second position.

FIG. 8 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a state in which the valve body is in the second position.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line 9-9 in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Firstly, in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, reference symbol M denotes an intake manifold of a four-cylinder engine E; the intake manifold includes a surge chamber 2 having an air inlet 1 at its upper end, four parallel first intake passages 3 that bypass part of a lower wall of the surge chamber 2 and that have an upstream end portion 3 a and a downstream end portion 3 b opening in the surge chamber 2, and four parallel second intake passages 4 passing through an upper wall of the surge chamber 2, an upstream end portion 4 a of the second intake passage 4 opposing the downstream end portion 3 b of the first intake passage 3 across a gap. This intake manifold M is mounted on one side face of a cylinder head of the engine E, and a downstream end portion 4 b of the second intake passage 4 is connected to an intake port 5 of the engine E. A throttle body (not illustrated) for regulating the amount of intake air of the engine E is mounted on the air inlet 1.

The intake manifold M is divided into an upper block Ma and a lower block Mb along a dividing plane in the middle of the surge chamber 2. The upper block Ma includes an upper half of the surge chamber 2 and the group of second intake passages 4, and is made of a light alloy or a synthetic resin, the lower block Mb includes a lower half of the surge chamber 2 and the group of first intake passages 3 and is made of a light alloy or a synthetic resin, and these two blocks Ma and Mb are joined via a plurality of bolts or are connected together by vibration welding.

In the surge chamber 2, the mutually opposing downstream end portion 3 b of the first intake passage 3, which has an upward-facing attitude, and upstream end portion 4 a of the second intake passage 4, which has a downward-facing attitude, have a gap opened therebetween, and the two are disposed so as to oppose each other across the gap. Hereinafter, the downstream end portion 3 b of the first intake passage 3 is called the first intake passage end portion 3 b, and the upstream end portion 4 a of the second intake passage 4 is called the second intake passage end portion 4 a. A valve body 8 is provided between the first and second intake passage end portions 3 b and 4 a, the valve body 8 providing continuity therebetween or opening the second intake passage end portion 4 a to the surge chamber 2. The first intake passage end portion 3 b is formed in a straight shape, and the second intake passage end portion 4 a is formed from a funnel member 4 a secured to a lower face of the upper block Ma via a screw 9 and arranged coaxially with the first intake passage end portion 3 b, this funnel member 4 a being molded using a resilient material such as rubber. Furthermore, the upstream end portion 3 a of the first intake passage 3 is also formed from a funnel member 3 a secured to a base face of the lower block Mb via a screw 7.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the valve body 8 is formed in a sleeve shape that is axially slidably fitted around an outer peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion 3 b, and an annular seal member 11 is attached to the inner periphery of the valve body 8, the seal member 11 being in slidable intimate contact with the outer peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion 3 b. Four of the valve bodies 8 are integrally connected to each other via bridges 8 a to thus form four connected valve bodies 8. Each valve body 8 can move between a first position A (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) in which it is distanced downward from the second intake passage end portion 4 a and the second intake passage end portion 4 a opens into the surge chamber 2, and a second position B (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 8) in which the upper end of the valve body 8 is in intimate contact with the second intake passage end portion 4 a to thus provide continuity between the first and second intake passage end portions 3 b and 4 a, and in order to define the first position A for the valve body 8 a lower limit stopper 29 made of a resilient material is installed to receive the lower end of the valve body 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 9, a linear motion guide bearing system 13 is provided between the intake manifold M and the four connected valve bodies 8, the linear motion guide bearing system 13 smoothly guiding linear movement of the valve body 8 between the first and second positions A and B. This linear motion guide bearing system 13 includes a high rigidity support post 14 that is secured to the upper block Ma via a bolt 31 so as to extend along a direction of movement of the valve body 8 and that is disposed on one side of a central part of the four connected valve bodies 8, a rail 15 secured to a front face of the support post 14 via a plurality of bolts 32 so as to extend along the direction of movement of the valve body 8, and a slider 16 movably straddle-mounted on the rail 15, and this slider 16 is secured to the bridge 8 a in the central part of the four connected valve bodies 8 (hereinafter, called the central bridge) via bolts 33. As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of roller rolling grooves 15 a and 16 a are formed on opposing faces of the rail 15 and slider 16 so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the rail 15, and these roller rolling grooves 15 a and 16 a are filled with a large number of rollers 17 in multiple rows.

The linear motion guide bearing system 13 is disposed so that at least one part thereof is placed between the two valve bodies 8 connected by the central bridge 8 a.

A valve operating system 10 for operating the valve body 8 is explained by reference to FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 to FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 1, a drive shaft 18 is disposed in the surge chamber 2 along the direction in which the four connected valve bodies 8 are arranged and on the opposite side of the four connected valve bodies 8 to the linear motion guide bearing system 13, and this drive shaft 18 is rotatably supported by one side wall of the upper block Ma and a support wall 20 projecting toward the surge chamber 2 side from the upper block Ma. An actuator 21 mounted on the outside face of the upper block Ma is connected to the outer end of the drive shaft 18 so as to enable the drive shaft 18 to rotate back and forth. Any type of actuator, such as an electrically-driven type, an electromagnetic type, or a negative pressure type is available as this actuator 21.

As clearly shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, a drive lever 23 projecting toward the central bridge 8 a is provided, fixed by a bolt 22, on a portion of the drive shaft 18 in proximity to the support wall 20.

On the other hand, a follower arm 24 projecting toward the drive lever 23 is fixedly provided on the central bridge 8 a (see FIG. 4), and the drive lever 23 and the follower arm 24 are connected via a link 25. In this arrangement, one end of the link 25 is relatively pivotably connected to an extremity of the drive lever via a first connecting shaft 26, and the other end of the link 25 is relatively pivotably connected to an extremity of the follower arm 24 via a second connecting shaft 27. The valve operating system 10 is thus connected, together with the linear motion guide bearing system 13, to the central bridge 8 a.

The drive lever 23, the follower arm 24, and the link 25 are arranged as follows. That is, when the valve body 8 is moved from a first position A shown in FIG. 5 to a second position B shown in FIG. 6 by pivoting of the drive lever 23, the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 approaches from below a straight line 28 connecting two centers 18 c and 27 c of the drive shaft 18 and the second connecting shaft 27, and after the valve body 8 reaches the second position B where it abuts against the second intake passage end portion 4 a, that is, the funnel member 4 a, the drive lever 23 is further pivoted through a predetermined angle, and the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 is made to move above the dead point on the straight line 28 while the funnel member 4 a, which is a resilient body, is compressively changed in shape. When the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 moves above the dead point on the straight line 28, the valve body 8 is locked in the second position B, thus preventing it from moving toward the first position A side due to its own weight or vibration.

Further pivoting the drive lever 23 through the predetermined angle after the valve body 8 reaches the second position B means that pivoting of the drive lever 23 is stopped when it has pivoted through the predetermined angle, and in order to stop the pivoting, a stopper bolt 30 for receiving a stopper arm 23 a integral with the drive lever 23 is adjustably screwed into the upper block Ma.

The operation of this embodiment is explained.

When the engine E is running at high speed, pivoting the drive lever 23 downward in FIG. 5 by the output of the actuator 21 via the drive shaft 18 allows the valve body 8 to be held in the first position A where it abuts against the lower limit stopper 29. In this state, the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 is positioned on the lower side of the straight line 28 connecting the two centers 18 c and 27 c of the drive shaft 18 and the second connecting shaft 27, and the weight of the valve body 8 works so as to press the valve body 8 against the lower limit stopper 29. It is thus possible to hold the valve body 8 in the first position A with a small output of the actuator 21, thereby preventing vibration of the valve body 8.

Since the valve body 8 held in the first position A in this way is distanced from the funnel-shaped second intake passage end portion 4 a, in the second intake passage 4 the second intake passage end portion 4 a opens directly in the surge chamber 2. Therefore, in an intake stroke of each cylinder of the engine E, air having a flow rate controlled by the throttle body (not illustrated) flows into the surge chamber 2 from the air inlet 1 as shown in FIG. 3, and is taken immediately into the engine E through the short second intake passage 4. The interior of the intake manifold M thus attains a high speed intake mode that is suitable for high speed running, charging efficiency is enhanced by effectively utilizing an intake pulsation effect, and the high speed output performance of the engine E can be improved. In particular, since the inlet of the second intake passage 4, that is, the second intake passage end portion 4 a, has a funnel shape, the flow of intake air into the second intake passage 4 becomes smooth, and the intake efficiency can be enhanced.

When the engine E is running at low speed, by pivoting the drive lever 23 upward, which is opposite to the above, with the output of the actuator 21 via the drive shaft 18, the valve body 8 is held in the second position B shown in FIG. 6. That is, the valve body 8 is held in a state in which it is in intimate contact with the inner peripheral face of the second intake passage end portion 4 a, which is formed from the resilient funnel member, and since this valve body 8 gives an uninterruptedly continuous state between the first and second intake passages 3 and 4, in the intake stroke of each cylinder of the engine E, air having a flow rate controlled by the throttle body (not illustrated) flows into the surge chamber 2 from the air inlet 1 and is supplied to the engine E through a long passage formed from the first and second intake passages 3 and 4 and the valve body 8. Therefore, the interior of the intake manifold M attains a low speed intake mode that is suitable for low speed running, charging efficiency is enhanced by effectively utilizing an intake inertia effect, and the low speed output performance of the engine E can be improved.

In the process in which upward pivoting of the drive lever 23 by the output of the actuator 21 makes the valve body 8 rise from the first position A to the second position B, as described above, in the second position B the valve body 8 causes the funnel member 4 a, which is a resilient body, to be compressively changed in shape, the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 moves above the dead point on the straight line 28, and the drive lever 23 makes the stopper arm 23 a abut against the stopper bolt 30 to thus stop pivoting thereof, thereby locking the valve body 8 in the second position B. Therefore, following this, even if the output of the actuator 21 is made zero or is greatly reduced, it is possible to prevent the valve body 8 from moving from the second position B due to its own weight or vibration.

Moreover, in the state in which the drive lever 23 abuts against the stopper bolt 30, since the downward force of repulsion of the funnel member 4 a from the compression against the valve body 8 works as a load to press the drive lever 23 against the stopper bolt 30, it is possible to suppress uncontrolled movement of the drive lever 23, thus making the locked state of the valve body 8 in the second position B more reliable. The position at which the drive lever 23 is stopped is adjusted by forward and backward adjustment of the stopper bolt 30, and this enables the amount by which the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 moves to the other side of the dead point on the straight line 28 to be adjusted.

In this way, although the self weight of the valve body 8 works so as to lower it to the first position A, since it can be locked in the second position B, it is possible to make the output of the actuator 21 zero or greatly reduce it, thus greatly reducing the load on the actuator 21. Moreover, while a vehicle is running, since the low speed intake mode in which the valve body 8 is held in the second position B is frequently used, reduction of the load on the actuator 21 is more marked, thus greatly serving for energy saving.

In order to lower the valve body 8 from the second position B and return it to the first position A, the drive lever 23 may be pivoted downward by the output of the actuator 21, and the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 may be moved downward from the dead point on the straight line 28.

Since the linear motion guide bearing system 13 for guiding linear movement of the four connected valve bodies 8 between the first and second positions A and B is provided between the intake manifold M and the four connected valve bodies 8, the valve body 8 can move smoothly between the first and second positions A and B without galling against the first intake passage end portion 3 b occurring, thus enhancing the responsiveness of operation. It is thus possible to control a sliding gap appropriately and easily, while lowering the precision of machining of sliding faces of the first intake passage end portion 3 b and the valve body 8, and not only does this serve to a reduction in cost due to improvement of productivity, but it is also possible to improve the responsiveness of operation due to the driving force for the valve body 8 decreasing and reduce the size of the actuator 21.

Moreover, even if the precision of machining of the sliding faces of the first intake passage end portion 3 b and the valve body 8 is lowered, since the seal member 11 attached to the inner periphery of the valve body 8 is in intimate contact with the outer peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion 3 b, when the valve body 8 is in the second position B where it abuts against the second intake passage end portion 4 a, it is possible to reliably prevent air from leaking from the surge chamber 2 to the second intake passage 4 through the gap between the first intake passage end portion 3 b and the valve body 8.

Furthermore, since the linear motion guide bearing system 13 includes the high rigidity support post 14 secured to the upper block Ma so as to extend along the direction of movement of the valve body 8 and disposed on one side of a central part of the four connected valve bodies 8, the rail 15 secured to the front face of the support post 14 so as to extend along the direction of movement of the valve body 8, and the slider 16 movably straddle-mounted on the rail 15 and secured to the central bridge 8 a, and the slider 16 is placed between the two valve bodies 8 connected by the central bridge 8 a, the single linear motion guide bearing system 13 can be as close to the center of gravity of the four connected valve bodies 8 as possible; this enables the operating attitude of the four connected valve bodies 8 to be stabilized, and it is possible to avoid as far as possible any increase in the dimensions of the intake control system resulting from installation of the linear motion guide bearing system 13.

Furthermore, since the linear motion guide bearing system 13 and the valve operating system 10 are both connected to the central bridge 8 a, it is possible to dispose the linear motion guide bearing system 13 and the valve operating system 10 in proximity to each other, the tilt moment of the four connected valve bodies 8 due to operation of the operating system 10 can be suppressed, and the function of the linear motion guide bearing system 13 can be enhanced, thus further serving for improvement in the responsiveness of operation of the four connected valve bodies 8.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be modified in a variety of ways as long as the modifications do not depart from the gist thereof. For example, the upstream end portion 4 a of the second intake passage 4 may be formed in a cylindrical shape, and the valve body 8 may be slidably fitted around the outer peripheral face thereof so as to open and close the gap between the upstream end portion 4 a and the downstream end portion 3 b of the first intake passage 3. Furthermore, the present invention may also be applied to a single-cylinder engine as well as a multi-cylinder engine other than the above four-cylinder engine. 

1. An engine intake control system in which a surge chamber communicating with an air inlet, a first intake passage that has an upstream end portion and a downstream end portion opening in the surge chamber, and a second intake passage that has an upstream end portion opening in the surge chamber so as to oppose the downstream end portion of the first intake passage across a gap and a downstream end portion connected to an intake port of an engine are formed in an intake manifold mounted on the engine, a sleeve-shaped valve body is slidably fitted around one of the opposing end portions, that is, the first intake passage end portion, of the first and second intake passages, the valve body moving between a first position in which the valve body is distanced from the other of the opposing end portions, that is, the second intake passage end portion, and a second position in which the valve body is in contact with the second intake passage end portion, and an actuator is connected to the valve body via a valve operating system for operating the valve body, wherein a linear motion guide bearing system for guiding the valve body in a direction of movement thereof is provided between the intake manifold and the valve body, a rail of the linear motion guide bearing system extending in the direction of movement of the valve body is secured to a support post fixedly provided on the intake manifold, and a slider of the linear motion guide bearing system movably straddle-mounted on the rail is secured to the valve body.
 2. The engine intake control system according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is of a multiple connected type in which a plurality of valve bodies arranged along a direction in which the intake ports of the multi-cylinder engine are arranged are integrally connected to each other via a bridge, the slider is secured to a central bridge positioned in a central part of the multiple connected valve bodies, and this slider is placed between two valve bodies connected by the central bridge.
 3. The engine intake control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the valve operating system is connected to the central bridge together with the linear motion guide bearing system.
 4. The engine intake control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a seal member is attached to the inner periphery of the valve body, the seal member being in slidable intimate contact with an outer peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion.
 5. The engine intake control system according to claim 3, wherein a seal member is attached to the inner periphery of the valve body, the seal member being in slidable intimate contact with an outer peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion. 